Simpler and Healthier…Think/Eat Locally!

A week or so ago I was sitting in the orthodontist’s office waiting for my daughter when I picked-up a copy of Metro Detroit Menu Guide. An article entitled “Think Globally, Eat Locally” caught my interest as I read beyond the bold type and glanced at the pictures. A friend of mine uses the term ‘locavore’ all the time. LOCAVORE actually got an “official” status in 2007 by the New Oxford American Dictionary as Word of the Year! locavore n: someone who eats food grown or produced locally…a trend to use locally grown, seasonally available foods. More info at www.madeinmichiganmovement.com

Also known as ‘localvores’, was actually coined by a group of San Francisco women who challenged residents to eat only food grown within a 100-mile radius! (www.locavores.com) The trend is to buy more local, nutritionally dense foods; fresher, better taste, utilizing less fuel for shipping, better for the environ as well. And…better for the local economy. Check out www.slowfoods.com

 The Michigan Dept of Agriculture estimates if every household spent just $10 a week on locally grown foods, it would keep more than $37 Mil each week circulating in the state’s economy. We sure could use a boost in our economy!!!!

A few interesting MICHIGAN facts:

Agriculture is the 2nd largest economic driver in MI (>$71 Bil); ranks 2nd only to CA in agricultural diversity.

MI ranks 3rd in the nation for asparagus.

Frito-Lay boasts purchasing >472 Mil pounds of MI spuds to go into Lays potato chips!

MI is the nation’s  largest producer of blueberries; the west side of the state accounts for 33% of all US blueberries.

Maple syrup is harvested from Feb – April and MI ranks 5th in the country for production!

MI was the birthplace of the nation’s celery industry in the Kalamazoo area in 1850’s and ranks 3rd in national production.

Where there are trees, there’s bees…producing >5 Mil pounds of honey in 2000 making MI 9th in the nation.

MI ranks 3rd in the nation’s production of apples – our most valuable fruit crop.

MI produces > 70% of the tart cherries in the US.

MI ranks 4th in the nation’s peach production.

MI sugar company is the 3rd largest beet sugar processor in the US.

Our wine industry is growing too…contributing $300 Mil annually to Michigan’s economy.

Whether you dine out on occasion or plan to cultivate a little patch of ground in 2010 for your own fresh produce…think LOCAL www.selectmichigan.org and become a locavore!  Support local farmers www.farmersmarkets.msu.edu/ in your area and help yourself to a healthier lifestyle.

Happy New Year!

I like welcoming in the New Year, though I don’t especially like staying up late. I’m definitely a morning person! My idea of a good party is playing games with family rather than going out on the town and whooping it up. Every New Year’s Eve, we clear the kitchen table and build a puzzle, pop in a video, eat thru the night and finally watch the ball drop in NY!

What I like about the New Year is the peace that comes with reflection – looking at what we did the past year and imagining what we’ll hope to do better in the year to come. In the next few months, I’ll have a bit of time to sit and spin and work on all the ‘unfinished’ fiber projects I put aside for one reason or another. Like many folks, I’ll be nestled in the warmth of family and friends (and my barnyard menagerie) that will keep me warm thru the winter months.

 My resolutions are sometimes tangible (organize the basement, dress my loom, etc), but often they are more ephemeral – about enjoying what I have and sharing it with family and friends. I’m committed to visiting my elderly parents every Monday – a simple thing often forgotten in our busy life…

I’ve also set aside a date in January to visit our local ‘assisted living facility’ and provide a felting demo – more good clean fun –  with the residents. Many are alone and rarely have visitors and welcome a kindly visitor.

And so my dear friends, I wish you peace, warmth and many blessings in the New Year!

MUST LOVE KIDS!

…goat kids that is!!!!  How else could you possibly explain the dedication to this RE-CONSTRUCTION project…during  the cold of winter!? Isn’t my hubby terrific? I think my goats’ new play fort turned out spectacularly!

The new goat’s fort was constructed almost entirely from recycled/re-used lumber from our grown kids’ (two-legged) fort with the exception of a couple of cedar trim pieces and the roofing material (ondura at Lowes). The inspiration came to us from our Pygora’s (Brutus) prior owners (Great Lakes Pygoras) who had a similar two-story goat shed.  However, rather than stairs leading to the second floor ‘dog house’, we elected to build a tiered platform. 

Beneath the ‘upper’ goat house is a lower level which also provides additional shelter…never too much critter housing around the barnyard!

It appears that the goats APPROVE of this new structure! Yeah!

Brutus, our Pygora, is enjoying his status as ‘king of the mountain’…at the moment.

Now look at that face and tell me what’s not to love????

I guess my hubby can concentrate on indoor home improvement projects now…hmmmm…what shall we do???

Reindeer Sighting

…when out on the lawn there rose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

 

 

 

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

 

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

 

With a little old driver,

so lively and quick;

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

 

 

Happy Christmas to all.

and to all a good night.

 

 

~:~ The End ~:~

Winter has arrived!

Brrr…baby it’s cold outside with temp’s in the teens and sub-zero if you factor in the howling wind!

Here in southeastern Michigan, we’ve been enjoying a somewhat extended fall with only an occassional dip in daytime temps. That was last week; more recently we’ve had some snow flurries on & off, freezing rain, high winds, certainly hinting of more winter-like weather on the way, or shall I say, here to stay? I guess you could say that this recent cold snap ~ pre-curser to winter: let’s not push it since winter doesn’t officially arrive for a couple of weeks ~ took me by surprise these past few days! 

Last weekend we worked with a purpose to catch-up on winterizing-type chores like draining the house water spigots, put away the last of garden hoses, swap out water troughs for smaller buckets, added wood shavings to the dogs’ house, move the remaining ‘tender’ plants from the un-heated greenhouse to the house…and so on. Wouldn’t ya know our barn yard hydrant decides to ‘act’ up and seemingly requires some repair/replacement parts and of course we’ll wait until the sub-zero temp arrives before we can finish that little job!!!! I don’t think I would survive as a pioneer woman. I like my modern conveniences like running water and electricity!!! Oh well.

Since the temps have plunged and worried about freezing, I decided to make several batches of applesauce from the apples I had stored in the garage. I simply washed and quartered the apples – peels and all -  into a large dutch oven with about a cup of water, sugar to taste and a couple of crushed cinnamon sticks. Bring to a slow simmer and cook ’til soft. I allowed the cooked apples to cool and put it all through the food mill. YUM. The apple peels & pulp was a nice treat for the chickens. I probably put about 3/4 of it in the freezer for later…

The latest project we’ve embarked upon – is the systematic dismantling of our kids’ (the two-legged variety) play fort and re-construction/re-purposing the usable lumber into a kids’ (the four-legged variety) play fort. If you know anything about goats…it’s that they love to climb. The previous owner/breeder of my Pygora, Brutus, had a sweet two-story goat house that seemed both entertaining and practical. My friend who owns one of our wethers, Jet, also constructed a ramp and shelf-type ledge in the barn for Jet to keep watch over his sheepy stall-mates. We ‘borrowed’ a little from both of these ideas to come up with our own design for a two-story goat house of our own…with a platform or deck instead of stairs leading to the second level ‘dog-house’…er, goat house, that is. There’s always a need for a little bit more housing to shelter another critter!

Here’s what’s left of ‘his’ and ‘her’ fort which was connected by a tower  and swinging bridges (first to go and no longer visible) between them. It was the stage for many family summer get-together water-balloon fights and wonderful memories! In truth, I’m glad to be taking them down. Visitors to my shop allow their kids to ‘wander’ the farm…and they soon discover the play fort. OMG, what if someone fell off and hurt themselves… ?

I’ll post some pics of the goat fort as soon as we finish – we seem to have many detours along the way, in spite of our plan and best intentions. HA HA

Talk about planning…like, Scherehazade, our Alpine doe, having been bred November 1, to kid in April. Hmmmm, apparently she came back into heat today????? So, drop everything, Katie skip school (at least 1st hour), load Scherehazade into the back of the Explorer (hubby has the truck) and off down the road we go. Just hope she doesn’t pee in the back of the truck! Thank goodness our friend’s buck is only 30-minutes away! We’re on a Nelly ‘watch’ next week TOO. This breeding stuff, predicting their heat cycle, is not an exact science, ya know! But, Rox, she’s ALWAYS wagging her tail…she’s sooooo happy to see me!!! lol

Earlier this week I also made – first time - fromage blanc, which is French in origin and means “white cheese”.  The word fromage is derived from the Greek word ‘formos’ which is a type of wicker basket used by the Greeks to drain whey from the cheese solids. Fromage blanc is easy to make – very similar to chevre (which is French for goat), but made with cow’s milk. It’s a soft cheese made with a mesophilic (low temp) starter/culture, similar to cream cheese and may be mixed with herbs or used plain as a substitute for cream cheese or ricotta in a recipe. Also similar to chevre, the cultured milk is allowed to ripen for about 12 hours and then drained anywhere from 6 – 12 hours depending on the desired consistency. 

I’m fortunate to live just down the road from Crooked Creek Dairy, a family operated Grade A Dairy. I thought it would be nice to make a fresh cheese to bring to our spinning guild’s monthly meeting/XMas Party. We had delicious soup, lamb stew (most of us own fiber animals), sloppy jo, all sorts of sweets and confections…and my home-made cheese. I made both a sweet (mixed with apricot preserves and blanched almond slices) and savory cheese with the fromage blanc. YUM! The savory (a blend of herbs, fresh green onion and garlic) was voted as everyone’s favorite. While I prefer to use my own fresh goat’s milk, it’s nice to know (during my goats’ winter down-time) that I have a local dairy right down the road and by purchasing their farm-fresh milk I’m supporting local farm lifestyle and Ag business while pursuing my cheesemaking adventures! Got Milk?

Happy weekend!

Pet Condo

When we built our house twenty years ago, one of the first outbuildings we designed/constructed was our ‘pet condo’. Our condo houses our two farm dogs, our egg-laying chickens during winter (when they’re not out on free-range) and our two bunnies.

Visitors to my shop (I have a cottage business, Sheepy Hollow Herbs, LLC) often wander…stroll the gardens and visit my barnyard menagerie. They often ask if they can ‘move in’  (lol), and find the utility of the pet condo very interesting, and make a mental note to construct something similar one day to meet their animal housing needs.

The shed itself is 2 X 4 frame construction built on a platform or deck. We used cedar panels on the exterior and installed 2 windows, shingled roof. The lattice on either end is decorative, but we’ve drilled several holes though the building for ventilation – it’s difficult to see – and covered them on the inside with hardware cloth (to keep unwanted visitors out). We painted the shed barn red with white trim – it could use a freshening! tee hee  Yes, that’s pavers inside the dog run and in front of the shed. My hubby has a THING about concrete…

The condo or shed consists of a dog pen on the west side – see the pic above – their in-out access hole is covered with a rubber flap. The dog’s space inside occupies the back half of the shed (approx 4′ X 4′). Most of the day, Bo is out wandering or guarding the sheep & goats. Riley, my German Shepherd, guards me and the farm and usually is by my side at all times. Actually, she requires no fencing to keep her home-bound!

The opposite side of the shed houses our egg laying chickens. Inside the shed is another compartment with 9-nesting boxes total, 3 rows across, 3 high, with feeder & water bucket. Outside, the chickens have a small scratching pen. We re-seed it every Spring, and within a few weeks, they’ve scratched it bare again!

We also house 2 bunnies in the shed (my lionhead has his own stand-alone hutch). Two, side-by-side simple wire rabbit cages (from any TSC Supply), nesting box, with custum built pull-out litter catch-pans underneath. We’ve cut an access hole through the wall of the ‘condo’ to an outdoor cage/hutch which hangs on the exterior wall.  It’s simple 2 X 4 frame construction built onto the exterior, a shingled shed-type roof with a hinged drop down door on both pens, hardware cloth/wire floor. No catch-pan needed here.

We also have a built-in multi-compartment feed storage bin for chicken/rabbit/dog and wild bird seed. Everything you need in one spot. The building itself is insulated and only on the coldest Winter nights, we hang a heat lamp inside and actually keeps the water from freezing. It’s simple, attractive and utilitarian! (if I do say so myself.)

Hope this provides you with some ideas for your own ‘pet condo’!

Wooly Fiber Projects

Here’s a sneak peak of a few WOOLy things I’ve been working on…

and will be offering for sale in my ETSY shop.  

Another Sheepy 'Sit Upon'...

 

A Braided Wool ‘Mug Rug’.

A Braided Wool Sheepy 'Mug Rug' from Roving.

Another Sheepy Mug Rug!

Sheepy 'Sit Upon' Chair Pad from Wool Roving

A Wooly Cute Sheepy Pillow!

 

Brown Sheep XMas Stocking.

Yet another - Sheepy XMas Stocking!

You may wonder if I ever get tired of making sheepies??? 

 NO…I love my sheepies!

Warm Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Heartfelt thanks from Sheepy Hollow for…

family and friends,

warm woolies,

birthdays,

soft muzzles,

quiet moments,

wagging tails,

lots of hugs,

a friendly hand shake,

bountiful harvest,

an unexpected visitor,

starry nights,

a wood fire…

God’s grace & blessings to you!

 

 

A Primitive Santa, and other woolies…

I finally finished my ‘original’ design primitive Santa! Too late for my Christmas in the Country Open House, but still in time for the Christmas season, never-the-less!

Prim Santa is made of 100% wool, red & green plaid suit trimmed in wool fleece – that’s my Cheviot wool fleece! He has rusty bells stitched onto the corners of his ‘coat’, twig legs, (it’s difficult to discern, since Santa is displayed from one of my hand-crafted twig trellis) and is holding a coffee-stained satchel filled with scented rose hips, cinnamon and spices, a piece of wool trim and a rusty mini gingerbread man cookie cutter.

 

His face is actually repro vintage card ‘paper’ santa. I added a touch of silver glitter to detail his eyebrows. His hair and beard is made with wool locks from a Border Leicester sheep. Their naturally curly locks are often used by doll-makers.

I also finished a few Christmas stockings, hand-knitted 100 % wool…for hanging on the fireplace mantle. I needle felted the sheep with my Corriedale and Shetland fleece. The sheepie is sporting holly sprigs around her neck. I think I’ll list a stocking or two on my ETSY shop once I figure the appropriate postage.  

I’ve been needle felting for a very long time and enjoy creating anything sheepie! I love the texture of working with difference wool fleece.

Never too many sheepies…

How about a few stocking stuffers?

Simple muslin drawstring sachets filled with 100% organic lavender, stamped with a ‘lavender lamb’. The ’squeeze bag’ releases wonderful lavender scent. Great for fiber enthusiast’s yarn stash, a desk drawer, linen closet…

Slightly larger, my Moth Beware! Wool Saver Sachet is filled with fragrant red cedar shavings and a variety of natural moth-repelling herbs raised in my garden such as tansy, wormwood, mint, rosemary, lavender…to name a few.  Also hand-stamped with a prim sheepie and ‘Herbs’ motif! These sachets will also be listed for sale in my ETSY store!

Well, I’ve been busy knitting up some red fingerless mitts and little red felted bowls, perfect for catch-alls during the holidays!

Happy fiber’n!

Simple Hand-Made Herbal Gifts

As the days shorten and the chill in the air turns our thoughts to home and hearth, take joy as winter approaches. It is indeed a more ‘peaceful’ time on the farm…gardening chores are mostly done, animals are ‘bedded’ down for the winter, winter woolies are taken out of storage…  It is a well-deserved quiet season to reflect on friends and family.

As Christmas-tyme draws nearer, simplify your gift-giving with heartfelt hand-made gifts. If you favor ‘collectables’ as I do, such as crockery, wooden bowls & trugs, baskets, linens, anything made from tin – you get the idea - fill them with something that you’ve hand-stitched, knitted, ‘put up’ from the garden, jams and jellies, herb vinegar & oils with herbs from the garden…or whatever your particular talent or speciality! 

Here’s a few ideas to use as a springboard to get your creative juices flowing:

For that special cook, a mason jar filled with your very own herbal ‘bouquet garnis’ for flavoring soup and stews. Prepare a blend of your fav dried herbs. Place 1 tablespoon of the mix in the center of a square of cheesecloth, tie with kitchen string and attach a tag describing the contents and a recipe or two?

A vintage canister filled with a special tea blend – add some of your own dried herbs, naturally!

Herbal bath salts presented in a pretty recycled cut glass jar.  Use 1 cup sea salt, 1 cup Epsom salt, 1 Tablespoon baking soda, and dried lavender buds (a few drops essential oil optional) makes a relaxing bath. Or, add mint for a ‘re-energizing’ bath soak.

A fragrant potpourri in a bowl: 1 cup dried lemon verbena or lemon balm, 15 bay leaves, 1 crushed cinnamon stick, whole cloves, allspice and dried rind of lemons or oranges. Add a few sprigs of pine or cedar ‘greens’, pinecones, and such from the yard! Hint: Make sure they’re de-bugged – place in a zip-lock and freezer overnight!

An old stoneware bowl filled with new potatoes and your fav recipe for potato soup, potato salad, scalloped potatoes, etc.

Fill a bowl with spicy pomanders. To pomander fruit, select firm oranges, lemons, limes, apples, etc. Draw (or freestyle) a simple geometric design onto the fruit with a water-soluble pen. Use a wooden skewer if necessary to lightly pierce your design on the fruit, wash off the ink, and insert whole cloves. Add row after row of cloves until your design is complete. Makes a wonderful fragrant centerpiece or for wreath embellishments and lasts for weeks.

A bar of your home-made soap and a hand-knitted wash cloth, with or without a vintage ironstone soap dish, tied with ribbon or raffia makes a lovely gift! Who doesn’t use soap????

An old fluted tin lined with a pretty towel and parchment paper, filled with fresh-baked cookies! Don’t forget to add a tag with the recipe!

Pinecones dipped in bees-wax, add a cotton wick and arrange in an old wicker basket as fire-starters for the hearth.

No matter, it’s the heartfelt thought and warm sentiments in gift-giving…leave a comment if you have a special hand-made ‘gift’ idea or two to pass along!  

Bountiful blessings!